Adjustable well casing and sand screen



April 14, 1925. 3 1,533,747

W.- D. LOUGH- srm ATTORNEYS or strata in which it is used.

Patented Apr. 14, 1 925.

uNrrEo 1T ES WILLIAM DAVID LOUGH,

or scor'r cnrY, KANSAS.

ADJUSTABLE WELL CASING: AND SAND SCREEN.

Application filed May 21,

To all wlzomit may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM DAVID LoUcH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Scott City, in the countyof Scott and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Adjustable Well Casings and Sand Screens, .of which the following is a full,.clear, and exact description.

-My invention relates to improvements in adjustable well casings and sand screens, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described for the purpose of developing wells for large capacities of water production by providing a larger seepage area for letting water into the well, such devices being especially suitable for municipal water supplies and irrigation systems.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character describedthat will function particularly well in sand and gravel strata.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described that is constructed entirely of non-eorrodible materials and which therefore precludes the accumulation of metal salts which might have an ill-effect upon the water.

A further object of my invention is to. provide a device of the character described that may be quickly and easily sunk in a position for use. 7

A further object of my 'invent1on is to provide a device of the character described in which the superimposed segments may be spaced at a predetermined distance from one another to most readily adapt the device to the particular characteristics of the s01] Other objects and advantages will appear in-the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

My invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawings, forming .part of this ap-- plication, in wh1chi Figure 1 is a partial sectional view bf an embodiment of my invention, and

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the mechanism illustrated in Figure'l, partly in section.

In carrying out ny invention, I make placed between the sections.

1923. Serial No. 640,543.

use of four metal rods 1. A circular steel cutting shoe 2 is provided with openings 3 therethrough, through which the rods 1 are projected and held against upward movement by integral head portions 1. The lower circular edge 5 of thesteel cutting shoe is relatively sharp, as indicated in Figure 1, so that the shoe may be easily forced into the water bearing strata in the well ore 6.

A plurality of convex concavevitriiied bronze, but may be of copper, babbitt, or

any other non-corroding material.

The concave. side of the sections Thas its side walls 10- at a greater pitch from the horizontal plane than its side walls 11 of the convex side, and therefore the distance between the sections 7 from the peripheral edges thereof toward the bolts 1 at the base of the convex and concave side walls, widens gradually, sothat particles of sand or gravel in the well bore may not clog the spaces be- Obviously, if it is detween the sections. sired to space the sections 7 at a eater distance apart from that shown in igure 1, or closer together, it is merely necessary to vary the thickness of the spacing washers 9. Therefore the device may be adapted to coarse strata or a gravel and sand'strata.

.The portion of the device intended to convey water to the pump mechanism is constructed precisely the same as the sand screen section, but the washers 9 are not The sections so placed are indicated at 12 in Figure 1. The uppermost of the sections forming the casing through which water is conducted to the surfaceis flat, as shown at 13, so that a suitable pipe may be attached by means of the bolts 1 to the uppermost section. It

will be noted that the only difference 'between the assembly of the device or that portion which is indicated to permit the seepageof water therethrough and that portion which is indicated to merely convey the water, is that the washers 9 are omitted in one and are not omitted in theother.

bolts 1 projected through the steel cutting shoe at the lower end of the bolts. By use of this simple structure, the sections may' be applied one at a time, or if conditions permit, a plurality of sections may be assembled and the unit sunk into the well bore.

If it is found that the water bearing strata is a relatively fine sand, it would be necessary to surround the sand screen with coarse gravel and the spaces between the sections should be relatively narrow. The sand and the gravel will not enter the casing, however, since the space between the sections permit its entrance. It will therefore be apparent that in my present invention I have provided a sand screen that may be adjusted at will to completely adapt the screen to the water bearing strata in a manner to permit the maximum amount of seepage without danger of the entrance of the'sand or gravel to the casing.

It will also be apparent that the space between the sections not become clogged by exceedingly fine portions of the gravel which may seek their way between the sections, since the space between the sections widens toward the interior of the sand screen, a tact which would compel the movement of the gravel once it had passed through the adjacent outer edges of the sections to move entirely within the casing where it would fall upon the bottom. of the sand screen and remain until flushed out.

Vhile I have here described the sections 7 as annular, it should be noted that any tubular section, such as a rectangular section in place of an annular section, may be employed with equal success, a condition which of course must be determined entirely by the conditions governing the particular use of the casing.

I claim:

A device of the character described comprising a plurality of movable sections having a convex end wall and a concave end wall, the angle of inclination of the concave wall being greater than the angle of inclination of the convex wall, rods for mounting said movable sections in axial alignment with one another, and separable spacing members for spacing certain of said sections back from one another a predetermined distance, whereby water may enter said casing.

WILLIAM DAVID LOUGH. 

